Burlesons are the first family of Seattle sports

By DAN RALEY, P-I REPORTER

Published
10:00 pm PDT, Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Valerie Burleson and husband Al, second from left, huddle with three of their athletic sons in the backyard of their Renton home. Their four sons include Al Jr., left, Lyndale, rear, Kevin, right, and Nate, not pictured. less

Valerie Burleson and husband Al, second from left, huddle with three of their athletic sons in the backyard of their Renton home. Their four sons include Al Jr., left, Lyndale, rear, Kevin, right, and Nate, not ... more

Photo: Paul Joseph Brown/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Photo: Paul Joseph Brown/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Valerie Burleson and husband Al, second from left, huddle with three of their athletic sons in the backyard of their Renton home. Their four sons include Al Jr., left, Lyndale, rear, Kevin, right, and Nate, not pictured. less

Valerie Burleson and husband Al, second from left, huddle with three of their athletic sons in the backyard of their Renton home. Their four sons include Al Jr., left, Lyndale, rear, Kevin, right, and Nate, not ... more

Photo: Paul Joseph Brown/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Burlesons are the first family of Seattle sports

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The mountain of athletic shoes piled high in the garage of Al and Valerie Burleson's suburban home is remarkable because it is only temporary. A neighbor regularly packs off the discarded footwear to a mission. There is no end to this donation.

This is perpetual residue from raising four athletic sons, one playing in the NFL, another in the NBA.

This is opening testimony for a case that could be argued in several different directions.

Introducing, Seattle's first family of sport.

The Burlesons -- specifically Al Sr., Al Jr., Kevin, Nate and Lyndale -- provide bloodlines, if not sweat glands, that locally have no equal in terms of collective success rate and competitive balance.

Coming close are the Tuiasosopos, if not the Richardsons. Yet beginning with Dad, a much-decorated defensive back for the Washington Huskies and CFL's Calgary Stampeders, the Burlesons boast the most accolades, even offering a sports rarity.

Nate Burleson, a starting wide receiver for the Seahawks, and Kevin Burleson, a reserve point guard for the Charlotte Bobcats, are believed to be just the second set of siblings to make it to the highest levels of pro football and basketball, joining the now-retired Cris and Butch Carter, Ohio natives and also a pass catcher and playmaker.

"It's a unique situation, where there are four boys, close in age, and you could compete against each other every day," said Kevin Burleson, 27, signed by the Bobcats as a free agent a year ago after two seasons in Germany. "Our dad, being in sports, bred that into us. It's a competitive household."

"It just kind of happened," said Nate Burleson, 25, lured from the Minnesota Vikings to the Seahawks in March with a seven-year, $49 million free-agent contract. "Dad always told us we were pretty special."

'I chose being a father'

Al Burleson Sr., 51, offered his sons determination, direction and good genes. Leaving an economically challenged, single-parent home in the projects of San Francisco, he made himself into an All-Pac-8 safety for the Huskies (1973-75), an unforgettable player for his 90-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 1975 Apple Cup.

Drafted by the Los Angeles Rams, he was the last player cut by Chuck Knox, let go after putting on his practice uniform, showing up for a team meeting and thinking he had made it through training camp.

Burleson went where he was wanted. He played six seasons in the CFL and another with the USFL's Los Angeles Express before injuries finished him. He considered coaching as an alternative, but went to work for Associated Grocers in Seattle instead, picking a new career path with one thing in mind.

"From my playing days, I didn't feel I was around enough trying to raise four boys," he said. "I couldn't have the best of both worlds. I chose being a father."

Entertainers to be shared

Of the four sons, Kevin by far is the most driven. Nate was always a gifted player, but didn't realize it immediately, nor did the others. Lyndale, who turns 21 next week and is a Nevada basketball guard, might possess the most athletic ability. Al Jr., 29, whose football career was slowed by a back injury and ended in college, is considered the most physical and emotional.

They boast a similar body type -- standing 6 feet to 6 feet 3 and weighing 185 to 205 pounds -- but have been identified differently. Al Jr. wore his father's college number, 18. Nate wears his father's high school number, 81. Kevin's preferred digit is 12. Lyndale has to be No. 1.

The family is deeply religious, and the Burlesons say their faith has played a significant role in advancing everyone's athletic concerns. It has kept them humble in the face of success. It has kept them connected.

Growing up, the sons were encouraged by their parents to regularly get on their knees and together share in prayer at home, and did so again this summer when they were briefly together.

"I remember praying to have my sons be great entertainers," Valerie Burleson said. "I was hoping that gift would be passed along to my sons. But it scared me, because the revelation came to me that they would have to go, they would have to leave, that as great entertainers I would have to share them."

Kevin always has been willing to do whatever it takes to be an NBA player. At age 12, he swore off candy, thinking it would help. He kept his brothers up late at night, dribbling two basketballs in the garage. He made lists and resolutely followed them.

He likewise paid strict heed to his mother's spiritual instructions to enhance his athletic opportunities. She told him it would be a nightly requirement, and he believed her.

"We would catch Kevin asleep on his knees because he had been praying," Valerie Burleson said. "His desire was so deep and awesome."

"I always wondered how I got back in bed," he said.

He wanted to be a Husky

Kevin, who attended Garfield High School for a year before transferring to O'Dea, was the only Burleson child tendered an athletic scholarship offer from their father's alma mater. He turned down the Huskies to play in the Big Ten at Minnesota.

Al Jr. went to the UW anyway, as a walk-on football player. He spent three seasons as special teams member and reserve safety before suffering a herniated back. He left the Huskies when there was a coaching change, from Jim Lambright to Rick Neuheisel, transferring to Division I-AA Western Illinois and starting in the Leathernecks' secondary.

"I went on the Internet, looking for a top defensive school," he said.

Of the brothers forced to go elsewhere, Nate, who spent one year at Lindbergh High before finishing at O'Dea, might have been the most disappointed the Huskies passed on him.

Neuheisel sent him a letter indicating there would be no offer, though suggesting the wide receiver could walk on, as his oldest brother did. He took a scholarship offer from Nevada, and his 138 receptions in 2002 were second all-time in NCAA history.

Neuheisel later admitted his mistake. As a Baltimore Ravens assistant coach, he stopped Nate after a game against the Vikings and told him as much.

"That meant something," Nate said of the gesture. "I walked away with a smile on my face. He knew I loved Seattle."

Most of the Burlesons pursued multiple sports. Al Jr. also was a trackman and basketball player, with one double-handed reverse dunk for Garfield causing a big commotion one night.

Kevin played every sport early on, but gave up football for fear of getting hurt and missing out on his favorite outlet, and walked away from baseball because the game was too slow.

Nate also ran track and played basketball, often going head to head with opponents such as Jamal Crawford and Marques Tuiasosopo. Football wasn't his passion in the beginning.

"Nate didn't want to play football at first, until he got into it," Al Sr. pointed out.

Only Lyndale, who transferred from O'Dea High to Franklin, wouldn't consider any other sporting activity. AAU basketball was huge for him. He played with Marvin Williams and against LeBron James.

He competed in one track meet, won a race, and didn't like it. His brothers insist the sport he never tasted would have led him to greatness.

"If he played football, he'd be better than all of us," Al Jr. said. "He learned from all of us. He's the best athlete of all of us. If he played receiver at Nevada, he'd be better than Nate."

Said Kevin, "Lyndale is a prodigy."

A special bond

What makes this family special is all of them have acknowledged talent. Their bedrooms might be empty at the family home while they're off chasing their dreams. But there is documented evidence in a downstairs TV room.

The brothers' favorite lounge area is filled with their trophies, plaques, hats, framed photos, newspaper clippings, trading cards, Kevin's Minnesota jersey, a game ball signifying Nate's first NFL touchdown catch, a game ball from Al Sr.'s CFL career and a basketball autographed by Gary Payton and Jason Kidd for Kevin Burleson.

They hung out for three weeks before Nate, the only married brother, had to report for Seahawks training camp. They shot baskets down the street at a neighbor's outdoor court. They went to the local bowling alley and took turns beating each other. They had a bench-press contest in the garage, and Dad won with a lift of 340 pounds.

They joked and poked each other. Envy or jealousy is not part of the Burleson makeup. There is no pecking order in Seattle's first family of sport, no matter how many millions anyone makes. Everyone's old shoes get mixed into one pile.

"When we come home, everybody is treated the same," Al Jr. said. "I get the front seat, that's it. There's no NBA or NFL when you come back in the family.